Foot, Meet Mouth
by Baileys
Summary: So, how DID Tony's mother end up in the hospital before she died? One-shot. Tony/Gibbs father/son. Tony/McGee friendship. Complete.


One-shot. Angsty and possibly clichéd! Inspired by a line from S9 ep1. Though no spoilers be here. If the medical is off the idea is actually from a very old episode of ER so credit and blame can go to them lol. Though I always try to double check on-line.

Don't own NCIS or the characters but open to part exchange?

...

The crime scene looked trashed when they walked in, though not in the way he thought it was supposed to look. The door was wide open, but not kicked in. There was some broken glass on the floor, fresh flowers in a heap in the middle and a wet patch on the rug. Tony encroached on the main living room. The window was broken, blood stained curtains blowing inward. The chair that had created the hole in the window lay on the lawn outside, like it was waiting for a dinner guest that would never arrive. The bodies were in the bedroom. The carnage had ended there. Blood seeped under the door, puddled neatly staining the floor but not quite reaching the small Oriental rug decorating the landing floor.

Tony turned away from the door and let McGee show Ducky the way while he went to interview the witnesses.

...

Team Gibbs arrived back at the Navy Yard four hours after receiving the call out. After following up on a lead Tony had got from one of the witness's McGee made his way out of the empty bullpen and down to autopsy to tell Gibbs what he'd found out.

"Got something McGee?" Gibbs questioned the minute McGee walked through the sliding doors.

"I spoke to the victims Doctor. She said for the past year she'd been prescribing Valium for an anxiety disorder and alcohol withdrawal." McGee paused. "She stopped filling the prescriptions two weeks ago." McGee said looking to Ducky who he knew could explain it better than him.

"Benzene poisoning." Ducky confirmed.

Gibbs brow furrowed upon hearing Ducky's preliminary cause of death.

"Explain." He commanded harshly, getting that feeling in his gut that something was wrong.

"Not in the same way as the poisoning Sharif inflicted on you, but with similar results. Valium is in a group of Benzodiazepines. If the victim did indeed just stop taking the medicine after being dependant for so long, add in any abuse of alcohol, and she would have experienced many unsettling symptoms including paranoia and likely hallucinations."

"Hallucination like for instance her dead ex-husband was trying to kill her?" Gibbs gut near went into a tailspin.

"Yes, I'm afraid so." Ducky nodded gravely.

"Where's DiNozzo?" Gibbs pinned McGee with an angry glare.

"Tony, why?" McGee said before thinking.

"Does he know?" Gibbs demanded, too preoccupied to give McGee a second chance to answer.

"About the Valium? He was the one who told me to follow up on the lead-" McGee answered, looking confused as Gibbs stormed out of autopsy before he could finish his sentence.

...

After leaving autopsy Gibbs had gone straight to Abby's lab, knowing without a doubt that's where DiNozzo would be since he clearly wasn't with him. Unfortunately it was where Ziva was, but not Tony. They were discussing the less then finer points of the case.

"I hate it when there's kids." He heard Abby say from his position in the hallway.

"It was…not pleasant." Was Ziva's less than articulate reply, "though I have seen worse."

They both let that thought digest before Abby breaks the silence.

"Is it true that the mom might have done it?"

Gibbs can practically hear the gears turning in Ziva's head.

"It is a possibility. Apparently the witness Tony interviewed said the woman had been acting strangely for days. She told a neighbour that her husband was trying to kill her and her children. The fact that the husband died in Iraq over a year ago discounts that possibility."

"I don't know Ziva. Ghosts can be pretty mad sometimes."

Gibbs hears a beep and Abby's giant shoes clomping over the floor and before Ziva can engage Abby on the subject of a scientist's belief in ghosts Gibbs makes his presence known.

"What you got Abs?"

"Gibbs!" Abby smiles at him, pulling the results of her latest test off the screen. "It's the blood work. The petty officers blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit allowed to drive and also…" She trails off as she examines her results, "positive for benzene – Gibbs!"

Abby calls him back, giving Ziva a pointed look she signs to him that Tony had been there 'looking like crap' but had left the minute Ziva arrived. Gibbs signed back a quick 'I'm taking care of it' so she didn't freak and left without another word, leaving Ziva a little perplexed, but none the wiser of the situation.

...

When McGee returned to the bullpen Tony was sat at his desk, but Gibbs wasn't anywhere he could see. Of course that didn't mean he wasn't around. He'd learnt long ago never to underestimate the bossman. With that in mind McGee approached DiNozzo's desk cautiously, prepared to turn and run should the question he was about ask be met with even a hint of hostility.

"How'd you know the side effects of Valium?"

The look Tony gave almost had him running from the start, but then Tony opened his mouth and gave McGee something he didn't think he'd had from Tony before. A straight answer.

"I've seen it before." Tony said without taking his eyes off the paperwork he was signing.

"In Baltimore?" McGee continued, needing more details to complete the picture.

"No." Tony answered succinctly.

"Peoria?"

"New York actually." Tony said lightly.

"I didn't know you worked as a cop in New York."

"Because I wasn't a cop." Tony stood and walked over to the large windows to look out over the navy yard. "I was eight."

"You were..?" McGee felt his jaw drop when he realised the possible direction of this conversation and wished, just this once, that he had let it go.

"It was my mother." Tony confirmed and gave a self-depreciating chuckle at McGee's obvious reaction.

"Tony you don't have-" McGee whispered but cut himself off when Tony continued as if he'd not spoken.

"She wasn't happy. My father, he worked, she drank. You're not supposed to drink on antidepressants, Probie." Tony looked over at him wishfully and McGee wanted the ground to swallow him whole, this was definately a foot meet mouth moment. "My father was away and she… I don't know… forgot to take them, decided not to take them. No telling now."

"Tony, I'm sorry." McGee swallowed, feeling ten times the fool for bringing this up, and understanding, now, Gibbs' reaction back in autopsy.

Lapsing into silence when Tony didn't react to the apology McGee fumbled for something to make it right. Nothing came to mind so he joined DiNozzo in looking out the window. Night had fallen since they'd returned and it gave the bullpen an almost serene quality. McGee turned his mind back to his partner and realised something. Tony never had a problem sharing little bits and pieces of his past or childhood. It was one of the things McGee was envious of, Tony's ability to talk so candidly without ever sounding embarrassed or ashamed. McGee had heard many strange stories over the years that they had worked together, some sounded good, some really bad, but as of yet none were this tragic.

So, despite feeling like he was asking for something which he could never reciprocate McGee started to ask his next question. His innate need for all the details couldn't have been held back any more than Tony's insatiable curiosity had their positions been reversed.

"How did she-?"

Tony answered like he'd been waiting for McGee to just ask the question already.

"Jumped out of her bedroom window. Tried to take me with her, thought someone had broken into the house. Kept screaming that we had to get outside. Of course I knew there was no one there, didn't realise she didn't… not when it happened at least. I just thought she was drunk."

"What did you do?"

"I watched Tim." Tony looked away from the window and walked to the stairs before throwing over his shoulder, "gonna get some air."

Tim watched him go, feeling lost and incompetent. He turned back to his desk and saw Gibbs standing on the other side of the divide.

"Boss? I think-"

"I know McGee. Finish up here."

...

Gibbs caught up with Tony in the car park.

"DiNozzo!"

"Boss? I'm not leaving, just getting some air. Would never leave during an active case." Tony said evenly, coming a stop and allowing Gibbs to catch him up.

"Case is closed DiNozzo."

The matter of fact tone that matched his own didn't set him at ease like he thought it was meant too, but the effort was appreciated none the less so Tony tried to play along.

"Oh okay, well in that case can I go? Because I'm just…" Tony looked away briefly, swallowing down whatever he was about to let slip because there was no good way he could end that sentence, before re-establishing eye contact. "I can do the report tomorrow I'll come in really early-"

"Tony."

He ignored the delicate use of his given name and ploughed on, forcing a wide smile.

"Okay I know I've said that before, but I mean it this time-" He made to walk away.

Gibbs grabbed Tony's wrist and turned him around, holding him in place with the least amount of pressure. For a split second Tony considered yanking his hand away and making a run for it, but knew from previous experience he couldn't escape the grip without causing some damage and this time he'd enough years under his belt as his partner to understand that Gibbs wasn't trying to hurt him.

"I know." Was all Gibbs said in return.

"You know?" Tony scoffed.

"Always known." Gibbs dropped the hold, seemingly unaffected by the tone.

"How?" Tony asked initially shocked, then the shock morphed into a sad smile, "you're Gibbs." He walked over to the nearest wall, Gibbs on his six and sat down. "I'm okay."

"I believe you."

"So what you doing out here?" Tony shrugged, sounding honestly confused.

Gibbs gave him a look.

"You worried about me boss?" Tony questioned him almost cheekily, a warm comforting feeling filling him and taking over from where the cold and empty had only recently retaken up residence.

"I'm always worried about you." Gibbs sat down next to him.

Tony acknowledged the honesty with a sad look and ducked his head. Gibbs wrapped his arm around Tony's back and absently stroked his hand over the tense shivering shoulders.

"I'm alright." Tony repeated, quieter this time.

"I know." Gibbs replied in kind.

...

Short but hopefully sweet? BIG BIG thanks to everyone who reads this AND all those who read, reviewed, alerted on my WIP Impetus. I've not forgotten it or anything, just waiting on a beta of the next couple of chapters. Ended up writing this to get the creativity following for a uni assignment:) Be back again real soon! luv Baileys;P


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